by Jane Jamison
Or was it because it was them?
That, of course, was ridiculous. She hadn’t known them for even a day. There was no way she could be…
She stopped herself, unwilling to let her thoughts go there. But her mind didn’t care what she wanted.
Am I jealous?
No. It wasn’t that. Why should she be jealous?
Because it’s them.
She wasn’t jealous. No way. No how.
But then, why?
Well, hell.
As much as she hated to admit it, and she did, she couldn’t ignore the feeling. She was jealous and getting more jealous by the minute.
Neither Gage nor William had touched Belinda yet. And that was the way she was going to keep it. “Hold up.”
They turned to her, surprised at the interruption. Suddenly, she had no clue what she’d say. She couldn’t tell them the truth. She wasn’t even sure she knew what the truth was.
“William, take the cuffs off her.”
He gave her a strange look, but did it.
“What are you doing? We haven’t even gotten started.” Belinda trailed a fingernail over William’s chest.
“I changed my mind.” She took the straps of Belinda’s halter top and lifted them. Belinda took the hint and put the straps behind her neck. “Go on back to the main room. I’m going to work directly with them.”
“Are you sure? I mean you’re…” Obviously, Belinda didn’t want to say that she thought Eva Marie wasn’t skilled enough to teach anyone. Problem was, she didn’t have to say it. “I’m sure I could do a great job with them.”
“I’m sure you could. But they’re my responsibility and I shouldn’t have asked you to do this. Not when we’re shorthanded in the main room.” She took hold of Belinda and practically pushed her out the door. “Thanks anyway.”
“But, damn it, Eva Marie—”
She shut the door in her face, at once feeling bad about it, but unable to stop herself. She’d apologize later.
“What the hell’s up with you?”
Gage was nothing if not ornery. And just as sexy as his nicer brother. “Like I said. You’re my responsibility and I shouldn’t have pushed you off on someone else.”
“Does this mean you’re going to be our submissive?”
At least William seemed happy about it. Gage still scowled at her like she’d just run over his foot with her pickup.
“Yeah. At least for the initial lessons.” Later, once they’d progress further, she’d have to turn them over to another girl. But that was later. Maybe by then she’d have learned more about them and gotten over her infatuation.
She held out her arms, wrists together. “Cuff me, William.”
William did as she asked. “Aren’t we supposed to be giving the orders?”
“Strictly speaking, yes.” She drew in a steadying breath. “So, okay, start acting like Doms.”
“Fine with me.” Gage reached behind her, and in one quick move, had the straps to her halter top hanging below her breasts.
She couldn’t help it. She studied them, trying to see if their eyes held the same kind of hunger they’d had when staring at Belinda’s breasts. To her surprise and delight, they did, along with an extra gleam of something akin to delight.
Good.
She stood there, letting them drink her in for a few moments. Fortunately, she didn’t have to wait much longer.
“Take her skirt off, William.” Gage worked his jaw back and forth, the lust spreading from his eyes to his mouth.
William took hold of the side snap, undid it, then pulled the zipper down. The tight skirt fell away from her lean waist, but hung on her wider hips. When he started to shove the material down, Gage grabbed his arm and shook his head.
“Naw. Let her.” His dark gaze lifted to hers. “Do it.”
Her mouth went dry. Once she pushed the skirt down, she’d be naked except for her high heels. It wasn’t as though they hadn’t already seen her nude body, but somehow, with them in charge, it made it different. Sexier. Hotter. At the pond, they’d just been two cowboys enjoying the show. But now…
Now what?
There it was again. That strange feeling in her gut that made everything change between them. It had been just a show before. Now it meant more.
“Sub, are you going to do what we tell you to do?” William’s dimples flashed at her. “Or do you need a spanking?”
She’d get into it. Wanted it more than she’d thought she would. Giving them a look much like Belinda’s, only hotter, sexier, she reached to one side and forced the skirt to slide over her hips. It fell to her ankles.
Was that how they’d looked at her when they’d first seen her at the pond? She hoped so.
The way they stared at her now was nothing less than reverent, yet with a craving that knew no end. They wanted her as much as she wanted them.
“Bend over.”
What if she refused? How would Gage react?
“I don’t want to.”
He frowned, thrown by her refusal. “Why not?”
“Because you didn’t say ‘pretty, please.’”
His scowl was gone as he grabbed her by the chin and forced her to look at him. Their gazes locked and a silent battle began.
“Color?”
She almost smiled. His question was a good sign, especially when she’d expected him to order her again. “Green.”
“And if you bend over?” William moved behind her and cupped her butt cheek, making her jump. “What color will you be then?”
“Just to bend over, sir? Green.”
“But you want me to say ‘pretty, please’?”
She silently dared Gage. “Yes, sir.” Had she called either of them master yet? Even if she had, she wouldn’t keep doing it. Not until they earned the title.
Gage put his face close to hers. Close enough that she could smell his breath. Close enough that she could see the glint in his eyes. His gaze lowered to her lips.
“Just this once then. And only this once.” He flicked the tip of his tongue along the seam of her mouth. “Pretty, please.”
She would’ve done a lot more than bend over. For him, for William, she would’ve lain down and spread her legs.
The realization struck her, once again muddling her mind. Giving him an answer in kind, she glided her tongue between her lips, keeping her gaze to his, then slowly, bent over at the waist. Her hair fell in front of her, obscuring her vision. William moved to the other side of her and took her arm to keep her steady.
William swung the paddle back and forth in front of her. She could see the shadow of it through the strands of her hair.
She’d had other members spank her, but it had meant nothing more than just doing her job and making someone happy. Would it make them happy to spank her? Would she feel more from the sting of pain than the little bit of excitement she’d felt before?
She startled when he put the flat side of the paddle against her butt cheek, held it there, then took it away. Was he teasing her? Or did he mean to torment her?
William patted her other cheek. “Are you ready, baby?”
“Yes, sir.” She was more than ready, even ready to do more than get spanked.
Think. Don’t jump to conclusions yet. True love has to be tested.
The whack against her rump jerked her forward more from the expectation of getting spanked than the actual force of his blow. The sting whipped through her, thrilling her. Wetness flooded between her legs and a heat she hadn’t felt in a long, long time rolled into a ball of fire in the pit of her stomach.
“Tell us you knew we were watching.”
She held back a laugh. Gage was persistent. She’d give him that. “I don’t know what you mean, sir.”
The second spank was harder than the first. “Sub, you’re lying. Don’t ever lie to your master.”
She didn’t have time to say anything before yet another hit came, flaring pain throughout her ass cheek.
“Tell the truth this time.”
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He was insistent, maybe a bit too much so. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Granted, a good submissive wouldn’t lie to her master, but she was having too much fun to give in.
Whack.
Then whack again.
It was harder those times. She frowned, even as another rush of yearning rippled along with her flesh. Gage was a strong man. He’d have to learn to realize the strength of his spankings.
“Darlin’, tell us the truth.”
Her bottom heated up like she’d gotten a sunburn. The line between pain and pleasure was very thin. “No.”
She closed her eyes, and readied for another spank. When it didn’t come, she twisted around to see Gage. To her dismay, he stepped away, handing the paddle to William.
“Here. You give it a try. I guess I’m doing something wrong since she’s not telling us the truth.”
Did he really give up so easily? “Gage, uh, sir?”
She was knocked forward from the force of the next strike and would’ve gone to her knees if Gage hadn’t caught her. She cried out, in real pain now. Every bit of pleasure left her.
“Red! Stop! Red!”
“Shit,” uttered William.
Gage helped her over to the chair. She took the seat, wincing at the pain when she sat down, and covered her mons with her clasped hands.
William knelt in front of her. “Damn it, baby. I’m sorry as hell. I didn’t mean to hit you so hard.”
Anger roared to life inside her, wiping away the excitement Gage’s spankings had given her. Gritting her teeth, she lifted her head and glared at him. “Get these damn cuffs off me. Now.”
He was quick to do so. “I’m sorry, Eva Marie. I swear I never meant to hurt you. I guess I got carried away.”
“That’s bullshit. You hit me and you hit me hard.” Although she knew it was only a mistake, she couldn’t hold back the anger. Anger at him and anger at herself for getting into the situation. She should’ve turned Paul down when he’d asked, or at the very least, kept Belinda as the submissive in their training.
William touched her knee. The gesture shoved her over the edge. She stood up, snatched up her clothes, and tugged them on as fast as she could.
“Take it easy, darlin’. He didn’t do it on purpose. That’s what we’re doing, right? Learning how to do this Dom/sub thing?”
Gage was right. Not that she could admit it. Clenching her hands, she did her best to calm herself. “You should’ve asked my color again.”
They weren’t the ones to blame. At least, not for all of it. She should’ve spoken up, but the last spank had been a lot different than the ones before it.
“Maybe you’re not the sub we need.”
She jerked her gaze to Gage’s. “Or maybe you just don’t have what it takes to be a good Dom.”
Their expressions were so different. Where William’s was contrite, Gage’s was fierce, defiant.
“Maybe you should go back to work in the main room. I’ll ask Paul to suggest someone else to help us out.”
His words hit her in the gut. She couldn’t help but feel she’d failed not only herself, but them. “Fine.” Turning to William, she added, “It’s okay. The pain’s gone.”
“Damn, baby, seriously, I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
She touched him, as much to accept his apology as to offer hers. “It’s okay.” One more hard glance at Gage and she was out the door.
Chapter Four
“I don’t think I could sink any lower.” As though to prove it, William slumped farther back in his saddle. Since yesterday when they’d had the failed session with Eva Marie, he’d been in the dumps.
“Stop kicking yourself. What’s done is done. Hell, I don’t know that I wouldn’t have done the same thing. After getting on each other’s nerves before, she would’ve taken my head off. You got off easy.” He was only half joking when he added, “I think she likes you better.”
“Bullshit. Even if she did, she doesn’t any longer.”
Gage shifted in the saddle, saw the burned tree marking the place where Destin’s directions told them to turn, and pulled his horse onto the riding path leading to Eva Marie’s small rental home on the outskirts of Pleasure. “She’ll get over it, if she hasn’t already. And if she’s not, then we’ll smooth talk her today and get back in her good graces.”
Even in the dumps, William wasn’t about to let a joke slide past him. “Not sure you were ever in her good graces, man.”
“Yeah. You’re right. We kind of rubbed each other wrong from the start, but I mean to change that.”
If they couldn’t convince her to let them cook her dinner as a way of making it up to her, then maybe they could convince her to go into town with them and get the best of the local fare at The Yummy Crumb Café. They hadn’t eaten there yet, but most of the ranch hands thought the food was pretty good. Then again, food didn’t have to be very eatable for a ranch hand to like it. As long as it was hot and plentiful, then they were good to go.
So far, they’d only breezed through town long enough to figure out that it was a lot like all the other small towns in Texas. One main street had other streets shooting off it, making perpendicular lines on a map. The town was cleaner and more up-to-date than a lot of older Texas towns whose time had passed. Hard times had driven the younger folks into the big cities to find work. Their town had survived, not in a small part due to The Club at Pleasure Ranch. The main street boasted the usual mom-and-pop shops with their goods proudly displayed in the front windows. Myrtle’s Salon was a busy place, more than just a place for the locals to get their hair cut, but functioning as the hub for the local gossip mill. On down the street was John’s Food Mart that had been passed down from one John to another. According to most folks, the son wasn’t half the man his father had been.
“I’ve been thinking. What if she’s the one?” William cocked his head with a glance warning him not to rag on him for sounding so sappy.
Gage wasn’t much for joking around, but sometimes William made it too damn easy. Still, he knew when to keep quiet. He’d had the same thought.
“We’re just getting going at the club. Do you want to stop? I mean, come on, bro, we barely know her.” He wasn’t just talking. He had a plan. By throwing out all the objections he’d come up with, maybe his brother would talk him out of thinking she might be the special woman they could share.
“So what if she is the right girl for us? We can still help out whenever Paul and Destin want. We just won’t do anything with any of the other girls.”
“Damn. We’ve known her less than twenty-four hours and we’re already letting her call the shots.” He scoffed, but without his usual conviction behind it. “Hell, we haven’t even had a taste of her pussy and we’re already whipped.”
“I wouldn’t mind getting whipped by Eva Marie. Or whipping her. But let’s put this to The Test.”
The Test. That was their tried-and-true method of deciding if a woman was worth the effort to get to know her. Or if she was possible long-term material. If not, they’d save themselves a lot of time pursuing someone who might end up being nothing but a good lay and shit load of trouble. Not that they wouldn’t take a good lay, but they’d make sure not to get too involved. Other than the sex part of it, the women they’d put to the test so far had failed. “Fine. Shoot.”
“Is she beautiful?”
“Pass.” As if there was any doubt. Then again, all the women passed that question. Beauty was subjective. Sometimes it was a woman’s vibrant personality that made her beautiful.
“Is she intelligent?”
“Yeah. She’s smart.”
William coughed. “With a sharp wit to match.”
“Right again. Though I’m not real sure that’s a good thing.” He supposed it depended on whether he was on the cutting end of her sharp wit or not. So far, he’d been cut but good.
“Will she make good wife material?”
That was a harder question to answer. “T
he jury’s still out. I’m thinking she might be, but it’s too early to say.”
“Just don’t let her know what we’re thinking.” William clucked to his horse, keeping it from getting too unruly. “I don’t think she’d like it much.”
“I won’t tell, if you don’t. That goes for the whole test.” He didn’t have to remind William, but it made him feel easier to do so.
“Is she good in bed?”
“Can’t answer that one. Just because she works at a BDSM club doesn’t mean she knows what’s she’s doing between the sheets.”
“And she said she doesn’t get into doing scenes. That might mean she knows she’s not very good at it.”
William could be right, but he didn’t think so. “Naw. It just means she’s particular. Which, in my eyes, is a good thing.” He pictured her on the back of her pickup. How could anyone with a body that smokin’ be anything but good in bed? And yet, he’d run across it more than once. Still…“Let’s give her the benefit of a doubt.”
“Agreed.” William had straightened up and pulled himself out of the doldrums. “We don’t have a clue how she’d be with kids, but it’s rare to find a woman who doesn’t have a maternal instinct. Especially after she pops out a baby or two.”
“Yeah. I can go along with you there. Okay, then, what about a connection? Did you feel anything more than the usual thing? More than just a cock picking a pussy?”
William silence was the answer before the answer. “I think I did.”
Gage had already answered the question for himself. He’d felt something the first minute she’d looked into his eyes. Since then, the attraction, the allure, the connection, the whatever the hell he wanted to a call it had intensified. Maybe that was why they’d locked horns so fast. Like a match put to a wick, they’d exploded. If they could channel the explosion, then what they could have would be fucking amazing.
“But back to the sex thing. If she doesn’t do scenes, and judging from happened yesterday, maybe she’s not going to want a Dom/sub relationship with us. There or at home with us.”
William readjusted his cowboy hat. “That’s a problem, all right. Although, if she’s got everything else we want, then I could live with just being a regular husband at home. Might even like it better.” He grinned. They’d argued enough times about who would get to legally marry the woman they loved. When it came down to it, if she didn’t want to choose, then they’d flip a coin.